Various types of air fresheners are commonly used for improving or changing the olfactory characteristics within the interior of a structure such as a home or business.
One common type of air freshener is a two-dimensional, paper fiber card with a fragrance surrounded by a clear plastic envelope. A string or elastic loop is secured to the paper fiber card for suspending the card. The envelope is either pierced or removed and the string or elastic loop is utilized to secure the card in an area to permit the fragrance to be distributed to the room by circulation of the ambient air.
One disadvantage associated with this type of air freshener is that they are typically aesthetically displeasing. Another disadvantage is that the paper fiber card must be suspended in an area where the card does not touch a surrounding surface to prevent the fragrance oils within the card from staining the contacted surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,258,004 issued Mar. 24, 1981, to Valenzona et al. discloses a hollow, disc-shaped storage container. The container is attached to a flat surface, via adhesive backed foam, at a suitable location in a room. One or more fragrance discs are placed inside the container, and the top of the container is rotated relative to the bottom to create openings in the side wall of the container. The openings permit the fragrance to be distributed to the room.
One disadvantage associated with this type of air freshener is that they rely on the circulation of the ambient air within the room to distribute the fragrance. Thus, in a large room, these air fresheners are not efficient in distributing the fragrance throughout the entire room.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,944,898, 5,383,765, 5,775,876, 6,413,047, 6,613,287, and 7,104,755 disclose air freshener devices constructed to be secured to the blade of a ceiling fan to eliminate the reliance on ambient air for distribution of fragrance.
While these devices are not reliant on ambient air for distribution of fragrance, they have their own set of disadvantages. One such disadvantage associated with this type of device relates to balancing the fan. Because the devices are attached directly to the blade(s) of the fan, counterbalance weight must be utilized for proper operation of the fan. Another disadvantage relates to the possibility of an air freshener detaching from the blade and becoming a projectile.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an air freshener which uniformly distributes a fragrance throughout an entire room. The air freshener should provide a convenient, safe, and disposable means for attaching the air freshener to a support shaft of a ceiling fan. The device should be constructed to prevent spillage or leaching of the fragrance to the supporting fan. The device should be supported out of the reach of children and pets. The device should include a coating, tray, cover or enclosure constructed to various types of liquid and/or solid air freshener.